positive take on the topic , the Guerrilla war

The Shining Path's credibility was also bolstered by the government's initially tepid response to the insurgency. For over a year, the government refused to declare a state of emergency in the region affected by the Shining Path's actions as the Interior Minister, José María de la Jara, believed the group could be easily defeated through Police actions. Additionally, the civilian president, Fernando Belaúnde Terry who returned to power in 1980, was reluctant to cede authority to the armed forces, as his first government had ended in a military coup. This gave the impression that the President was unconcerned about the activities of the Shining Path. The result was that, to the peasants in the areas where the Shining Path was active, the state gave the appearance of impotence or lack of interest in the region. However, it became evident that the Shining Path represented a clear threat to the state.
On December 29, 1981 the government declared an "emergency zone" in the three Andean regions of Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Apurímac, and granted the military the power to arbitrarily detain any suspicious person. The military used this power extremely heavy-handedly, arresting scores of innocent people, at times subjecting them to torture and rape. Police, military forces and members of the Popular Guerrilla Army (Ejército Guerrillero Popular, or EGP) carried out several massacres throughout the conflict. Military personnel took to wearing black ski-masks in order to protect their identities and, therefore their safety and that of their families. Masks were also used to hide the identity of military personnel as they